The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours has sentenced two Asian men to one month in jail and ordered them to jointly repay the equivalent of $1,500 in UAE dirhams, followed by deportation, after finding them guilty of defrauding a European tourist by selling him counterfeit mobile phones.
The incident occurred in September, when the visitor filed a complaint stating he had been deceived and robbed of $1,500.
He reported that while walking along Sheikh Zayed Road, the two men approached him and offered to sell him two mobile phones at prices lower than those in authorized shops.
The tourist said he inspected the devices and confirmed they were genuine, but after paying and receiving the boxed phones, he suspected that one of the men had swapped the real devices with fake ones during packaging. He quickly checked the boxes and discovered the scam.
With the help of a passer-by, he chased the pair and managed to detain one until police arrived.
A police officer testified that he arrested the first suspect at the scene and located the second soon after. Both men admitted during questioning that they had defrauded the visitor and taken $1,500 from him.
The suspects also confessed to repeatedly selling counterfeit phones to pedestrians in various areas, using a method in which they would show genuine devices but secretly replace them with fake ones during packing.
The court convicted the two men and issued its ruling accordingly.
